Grounded at Camp Half-Blood
by iheartamianplusnatan
Summary: As usual, the Hermes Cabin is up to something. But this time, their plan backfired on Travis Stoll and the infamous bossy Katie Gardner. As a puishment, they are forced to work together for a week. How will they survive a week together? They hate each other! Aaaaah! Lots of Tratie! :) Trying to make it to 100 review- please help! Thanks!
1. Just a Regular Day at Camp Half-Blood

**Hi! So, this is my first Percy Jackson fanfic, and i'm really excited! Naturally, I HAD to do a Tratie, and I hope you enjoy. Read and Review!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Percy Jackson series. :(**

Another Regular Day at Camp Half-Blood

-Travis Stoll POV-

If you're reading this right now, then you need to know one thing—

IT TOTALLY WASN'T MY FAULT!

So, Katie will probably tell you that it was my fault, but she lies.

Don't take my word for it. Ask her if the Crab Lake is poisoned, and when she says no, then jump in and I'll laugh. Because—you guessed it—it's actually poisoned.

Anyway, I'll continue. It was just a regular day at Camp Half-Blood. The Ares cabin was organizing a group paintball fight, the Demeter cabin was challenging the Apollo Cabin to a basketball match, (not a good idea, they should have asked the Hermes Cabin; we challenged them last week and they beat us 234 to 1) and the Aphrodite cabin was running after some satyr with a bucket of hair dye. So, yeah, just a normal day.

And what was the Hermes Cabin doing, you might ask?

Well, that's a very good question.

"On my mark!" my brother Connor hissed. "One, two, three, LAUNCH!"

I pressed the big red button, and the ground started to shake. All the campers started screaming and running around in frenzied circles. Margaret from Athena cabin was screaming, "ZEUS! HE'S OUT TO GET US! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Then she fainted dead away, and Gracie from the Apollo cabin had to pick her up.

Chiron came out of the four-story Big House, looking worried. "Everyone, to the earthquake cellars. Quickly!"

The campers that hadn't already gone berserk started screaming and pushing other people out of the way, running like crazy people to get into the cellar. Nobody seemed to notice that the Hermes Cabin was missing in on the action.

Excellent.

Connor and I high-fived while the rest of the cabin chuckled along with us. Of course, there was no earthquake, and Zeus was not coming down to punish the camp. This earthquake was completely Hermes-approved and Hermes-made. See, the other cabins think we're not smart. They're the stupid ones.

Chiron finished herding all the campers into the cellar, and he slid the large wooden door shut. We nodded to Vera, our lookout, who gave the signal to Justin. Quickly, he ran across from his hiding place in the trees to the cellar and latched it shut. Our plan was underway.

We climbed down from our spot on the Hermes roof and gathered the Hermians together. "OK, guys. On the count of three, follow out the plan. You do know it right?"

Abby raised her hand. "Um, what exactly was the plan?" Abby wasn't the brightest.

In response, Connor held up the huge trash bags and dumped them onto the ground. Out spilled millions of rolls of toilet paper, spray paint, silly string, and much much more.

Connor grinned evilly. "We're gonna trash this place worse than Hades. Oh, and by the way, try and make it look like Zeus did it or something. Now, break!"

We all grab stuff gleefully and run off in different directions. Allison put silly string all over Chiron's chair. Ron took care of all the roofs. Abby and Marianna bravely tackled the Ares cabin. The only one we didn't touch was the Athena cabin. Those guys are seriously scary.

I was about to head to the cellar door and paint that too (pretty bold move, even for me) when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I spun around expecting to find Connor, but instead got face to face with Katie Gardner, leader of the Demeter Cabin, bossy as ever.

My brain froze as I tried to come up with an excuse as to why we're toilet papering the Camp, but I didn't think she'd buy the Post-New Years party thing that we came up with. Wow, that even sounds stupid in my head. Who came up with that lame excuse?! Probably Abby.

I went for it anyway. "Um, we were just having a post- New Years Party?"

Yep, she wasn't buying it. "So why is nobody else here?"

"Oh, you know, they went off to party somewhere else."

"Like in the cellar?" She pointed to the cellar door, which was starting to shake. Guess people found out that they were trapped in their. We needed to hurry.

Katie raised her eyebrows as I fished for an explanation. Finally, she grabbed my spray can and said in a bossy tone, "I'll take that. Now, we should probably let the campers out of the cellar so that you can receive the proper punishment."

I gritted my teeth and reached for the can, but before I could get it back, the cellar door burst open. Clarisse and Chiron were standing in the doorway. "You are SO DEAD, PUNKS!" Clarisse screamed. I looked behind me, expecting to find the rest of my cabin, but nobody was there. They must have escaped into the cabin. Then I noticed that Chiron was coming closer to me and Katie.

Chiron cantered up. "Travis Stoll and Katie Gardner! WHAT in the name of Zeus do you think you are doing?!" He gestured around at the mess.

Katie opened her mouth, but the words were garbled. "I- not me- Travis- he- I just- not me- him-he….not me!" Chiron looked pointedly at my spray can in her hand, and she fell silent.

Chiron glared at us. "Both of you follow me." We trudged up after him to the Big House. I noticed that someone (probably Ron) had written 'Camp Half Blood die! From, Zeus or something else'. I smiled, and immediately, Katie turned on me. "Oh, so you think this is funny? We'll probably get some huge punishment!"

I rolled my eyes. "Probably."

Katie's breaths started coming shorter and shorter until she was close to hyperventilating. "What is he makes us go into the forest?! What if he makes us fight to the death?! What if—

"If he burns us at stake?" I offered helpfully. "Seriously, calm down!"

"I can't calm down! Don't you understand?!" Katie's voice was shrill. "And its YOUR fault that I'm in this mess in the first place!"

I curled my fists into tight little balls. "Look, I didn't ask for you to come and ruin everything!"

"You're SOOO annoying, Travis Stoll!" Katie huffed.

"Back atcha, Bossy."

Katie glared at me one more time and then flounced after Chiron, and I quickly followed. I might as well get this over with. Probably Chiron would just make us clean it all up. That wouldn't be so bad, right?

Boy, was I SO wrong.

**Cliffie! Anyway, Margaret, Gracie, Abby, Allison, and Marianna are all real people. Margaret and Gracie are exactly how they are portrayed in this story. Example: Last week, Margaret was just sitting there in Centennial Lobby at school, and a picture frame falls on her head and she gets a concussion! And then when Gracie finds out, she falls out of her desk laughing. Anyway, Abby is not actually dumb, shes super-duper smart! Hi Abby! *insert spastic wave here* Yeah, so I hope you liked the story! Review!**

**Yes, Allison, I DID remember the disclaimer, FINALLY!**


	2. Hate and Punishment

**Hi! So, i'm back with more! I hope you like this chappie. The next one will be better, i promise! **

**PS. Think of this song when you're reading this chapter- i was debating on putting the Alvin and the Chipmunks version, but then decided against it. here it is- watch?v=gH476CxJxfg**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Percy Jackson**

Hate and Punishment

- Katie POV –

So, Travis described me as annoying and bossy and a goody-goody. That is SO not how I am.

Well, maybe just a little bit.

But you can't blame me for wanting to follow the rules. Especially at Camp. Camp Half-Blood punishments are legendary. Dish washing at regular camp is gross, but dish washing with molten lava? Please. Your regular old weekend camp is NOTHING in comparison.

Anyway, I was off in the strawberry fields when the "earthquake" came. My first thought was to save the plants (what? It's in my blood!) and I hid in the shed. When the vibrations stopped, I came out to find the Hermes Cabin completely trashing the camp. Then, Travis "Annoying" Stoll runs into me, and I rightly take his Stupid Spray, and then look who gets framed for the whole fiasco. Me! Me, Katie Gardner, Demeter Cabin, who's never done anything bad in her life. Me! I still couldn't believe it.

Apparently, neither could Chiron from the looks he was giving me. You'd have thought that he would give me some kind of leeway since I've never done anything bad in my life and I don't plan on ever doing anything bad, but all he did was stare at me in stony silence.

We were sitting in the comfortable chairs in Chiron's office in the Big House. Dean Martin was playing softly in the background, and I recognized the song, surprisingly enough. It was my grandfather's favorite.

Chiron (finally!) cleared his throat and glared down at us. "I would like an explanation as to why Camp Half-Blood is completely trashed, and you two were standing in the middle of it."

I flinched. Had it really looked that bad?

"Travis, you have been given many warnings about this sort of behavior. You should have known better."

Travis just shrugged nonchalantly. It would seem that he had had that talk with Chiron multiple times. Then Chiron turned on me. "Katie, I can see Travis participating in this, but you? Why did you do this? I expect better from you."

Travis gave me a sideways glance to see if I had started crying or something, but strangely, I wasn't scared or ashamed. I mean, I didn't even do anything for pete's sake! I was about to open my mouth to explain everything to Chiron, when I saw Travis give an almost imperceptible shake of his head. Of course. If I told Chiron the whole story, then the whole Hermes Cabin would be to blame, and it would be all Travis's fault. They would hate him. While part of me relished the thought of this kid being shunned, the other half felt pity for him. How horrible would it be to have your whole cabin hate you?

I took a deep breath. Chiron looked at me piercingly. "Would you like to say something, Katie?"

Travis seemed almost as still as a statue.

I bit my lip and nodded.

Travis went rigid.

"I'm very sorry for Travis and mine's actions. It was mostly Travis."

Travis relaxed and shot me a grateful look, but I noticed that there was still distrust in his eyes. Well, that was fine. I didn't trust the little sneak either.

But Chiron didn't seem convinced. "Are you sure that there were no other accomplices?"

"Yes, I'm positive. I didn't work with anyone else." Not exactly a lie, since I never actually did anything.

Chiron settled back into his chair. "This was a severe breach of conduct for both of you. As a result, punishment is unavoidable."

I shot a glare at Travis. This was all his fault.

"Your punishment is that you two will work together for a week cleaning up the camp, doing the dishes, and many other chores around camp. You will come and see me at 6:00 every morning for your list of chores. When you are done with them you may go. You will also have to assign a substitute to take over your duties of cabin leader. Is that clear?"

My mouth fell open. Literally, I could not close it. A whole week of chores?! With Travis Stoll?! This was like a nightmare. Based on the weird sounds Travis was making, I guess he felt the same way.

Chiron clapped his hands together. "You may go now. Just remember- you have brought this among yourselves."

I whirled around and stormed out of the Big House without another glance. That STUPID Travis Stoll! Thanks to him, I now have the worst punishment in Camp history. Spending a week doing chores with him.

How will I survive?

As soon as I got to my cabin, I called a meeting. "All right guys, listen up. Remember this morning? Well, thanks to Travis Stoll, now I have to spend an entire WEEK doing chores with him."

My cabin murmured their apologies. Claire patted me consolingly on the back. "Sorry that you have to work with that loser."

"So am I, Claire, so am I," I muttered. Then, speaking louder, I appointed my second-in-command. "Hannah will be taking over for me as head of the Demeter Cabin for the next week."

Hannah squealed, which she normally never does. "Yes! The cabin leaders get to help plan the Camp Dance!"

I groaned. "Ugh. That's right! I have to find a date for the dance!"

Isabel smirked. "Well, while you were gone, Andy from Hephaestus Cabin asked if you were available. What should I tell him next time he comes?"

I rubbed my temples. "Tell him that I'm NOT interested, and that I have rabies!"

Everybody laughs at this. Andy is the biggest loser in all of Camp, and everybody knows it. Even though he's in Hephaestus, he seems to break everything he touches, and he's none too bright, either. The fact that he wanted to ask me to the dance is probably an indication that I shouldn't go.

I walked out of the cabin and trudged through the cabin circle, heading up the hill. I zigzagged past the strawberry fields and through the hedge until I was right at the edge of the forest. I gave a quick glance either way and then stepped into the thick foliage. It wasn't forbidden, but I didn't want anyone following me.

I trudged down a well-worn path toward the river. There's a little moss patch just big enough to be a beanbag chair, and I love sitting there. It's my favorite thinking spot. The light shines down through the trees, and the stream is always cheerfully gurgling.

I plopped down on the moss and laid my head back. Worries? Number one- I was in trouble with Chiron and had to do a week of chores with Travis Stoll. I wasn't good with boys regularly, but Travis was just so annoying that it was completely impossible to have fun with him. Most people seem surprised that I'm not a boy person. _But you're so pretty! _they insist. _You've got to have at least a couple of boyfriends!_ Ha. Please, I'm not like Isabel; changing boyfriends every week. You'd think she was an Aphrodite.

Worry Number two- I needed a date for the dance. Back to the boy thing again. It would be totally embarrassing to show up without a date! Not that I haven't done more embarrassing things. Still…

I sat up straighter. No! I was starting to sound like an Aphrodite! Maybe Isabel was rubbing off on me. The thought made me shudder.

I stood up and walked around. There were some really pretty Stargazer Lilies by the riverbank, and I picked one and put it in my hair. Stargazer Lilies are my favorite flowers. They are white on the outside and light pink on the inside with dark pink spots like freckles closer to the inside. I ran my finger along the delicate pink petal, and the colors seemed to become brighter. I put the lily in my palm and concentrated hard. When I opened my eyes, the lily was glowing a light pink-gold-ish color. I had never shown anyone this trick, not even my cabin. A girl who could make flowers glow? Pretty weird, even if I am from Demeter Cabin. I don't want to be singled out for my weirdness any more than I already am.

I passed my hand over the flower, and the glow vanished. I put the lily back in my hair and looked at the sky. The sun was in the west, and quickly sinking. I estimated that it was about 5:00 in the afternoon. It would be dinnertime soon. I sighed and walked back the way I came, down the path and out of the woods. I was walking past the tetherball court when I felt a sweaty hand grasp my arm. I whirled around and came face to face with a horrible sight.

Andy from Hepheastus.

My eyes got big and I tried to escape, but Andy's hands must have gotten really strong from making stuff, because he had an iron grip. He gave a grimacey-dorky smile and laughed, sending his flabs of belly fat jiggling and the smell of garlic pizza breath towards me. I tried not to gag. "Um, hi Andy."

"Hey hey hey Kat!" Gods, he sounded like Isabel!

"What do you want?" I was trying not let my irritation show, but it was getting hard.

"Well, I was just wondering if you were, you know, available for a picnic now?"

I grimaced at the thought of spending time with Andy. "Actually, I have a …..thing. Like right now. So, if you could just let go—"

Andy heaved a sigh and let go of my arm. Quickly, I started taking steps backwards. "Yeah, well, it was nice talking to you and all, but I really got to go." My steps got bigger.

Andy grimace-smiled again. "You won't get away from me so fast!" He tried for a flirty voice, but it came out as more of a high-whinying voice. Like a horse. My horror increased by about a hundred when Andy started galloping after me. I turned my heel and ran.

I could hear snickers coming from all over as I ran for my life. Some guys whistled. "You go Andy! Catch that girl!"

I reached my Cabin and flew in, slamming the door behind me. "If anyone comes in here," I panted, "tell them I'm not here and that I went over for dinner!" I then flew into the bathroom. I sat there panting, for about ten minutes, until Claire came in and announced that the coast was clear. "Thanks," I said weakly. "All right cabin! We're going down to dinner!"

All in all, not one of my better days.

Probably better than tomorrow would be, though.

Curse you Travis Stoll!

**Poor, poor Katie! Anyhoo, please read and review!**

**Hey! That ryhmed!**

_**I'm a poet and I didn't even know it!**_

**Sorry, that was bad.**

_**It makes me real sad.**_

**OK, that was bad too.**

_**Now i'm feelin' real blue.**_

**Stop rhyming, i mean it!**

_**Anybody wanna peanut?**_

**Aaaaagh!**


	3. Day 1- Katie's Secret to Success

**Hello, anyone who's reading this! I'm back with chapter three! Thanks to all of you that reviewed- you're so supportive! :) This is my first PJO fanfic, so i wasn't sure how it would turn out...**

**Please read and review! :)**

Day Number 1-

-Travis POV—

I try never to wake up before nine o'clock on summer break. Today, however, was an exception.

I rolled over in my bunk, groaning. My hand groped for the alarm clock, and I punched it quiet. Above me, I could hear Connor muttering something in his sleep.

The other day, I had come back to the Hermes Cabin in a state of horror. I could barely pick my jaw up off the ground long enough to tell Connor about my punishment. When I did, he shook his head in sympathy. "Man, that really bites."

I grumbled. "Thanks for reminding me."

A group of pretty Aphrodite girls walked past us, and when they saw Connor and me, they batted their eyelashes and giggled. Connor waved and wiggled his eyebrows at them. They giggled even louder and hurried away. I gave Connor a strange look. "Why are you acting weird?"

Connor shrugged. "I always act weird. Thought you'd already figured that out."

"No, I mean, weirder and flirty-er than normal."

Connor rolled his eyes. "Oh, brother, brother, brother. How else am I supposed to get a date? I'm not naturally dark and handsome like you." He fake batted his eyes and spoke in a falsetto tone. "Oh, Travis, will you go to the dance with me? Pretty please?" Then in his regular voice, "Girls will be lining up to dance with you."

I snorted. "Please. Maybe for you, but not for me. You're the blonde. Girls are attracted to blonde guys like flies are attracted to electric lights."

Connor raised his eyebrow. "Are you seriously comparing me to an electrical light?"

I snorted. "More like a fly magnet."

Anyway, I pulled on some old clothes, trying not to wake up my bunkmates. I stepped outside into the morning air and shivered.I jogged up the hill leading to the Big House. There was an ominous fog hanging over the camp, and it was gray and gloomy outside. There were no other campers in sight- which I was very thankful for. Yesterday afternoon had been torture; walking through the crowds, hearing everyone whispering my name. It was like people didn't know what to make of me. I didn't really mind that much, but it was still unsettling. Connor told me it would all blow over soon. I hoped he was right.

I entered the silent Big House and followed the single light. I opened the door to Chiron's office and saw that Katie was already there, checking her emails on the small computer in the corner. She didn't look at all that ready to do some dirty cleaning work; she had on a loose Camp Half-Blood tank top, raggedy jeans, and old flip-flops. She had no make-up on. It was like she didn't care at all about how she looked. It was weird. All the girls I knew spent about ten minutes on their look. Katie looked like she had spent about ten seconds.

I sat down on a comfy couch, and Katie logged off to join me. Chiron cleared his throat and peered down at us. "I'm glad you both showed up this morning. I had some doubts." Chiron gave me a pointed look as he said this, like he didn't trust my punctuality. As if.

"Today, your assignment is thus; clean up the mess you made of Camp. You may use minimal amounts of magic to compete this task. When you are done, you may go back to your daily schedual. You get breaks between 8:00 and 8:30 for breakfast and 12:30 to 1:00 for lunch. Good luck."

Katie and I trudged put of the Big House. She shot me an angry glance that clearly said, this is ALL YOUR FAULT! Have I mentioned before how annoying she is?

Kate pointed to the Dionysus Cabin, where the two twins, Castor and Pollux, were busy trying to climb onto the cabin roof and get the toilet paper off. Someone had written "DRUNKARDS!" all over their front door, and it looked like it had been half-scrubbed off, and then given up on. I watched with amusement as Castor tried to boost Pollux up the ladder, and then they fell down on top of each other. "Why should we go over there? It's hilarious just watching them! I mean, look!"

Katie gave me a look of disgust, and muttered _jerk_ under her breath. "Well, I'm going to go help them. Laugh all you want." She marched over to the Dionysus Cabin, and I reluctantly followed her.

Kate walked up to Pollux, the older brother, who we knew from Camp board meetings. "Hey Pollux. You need any help?"

Pollux looked relived. "Yeah. Hey, by the way, how'd you get framed for doing all this?"

Katie looked relived. "You mean that you know that I didn't do it?"

Pollux just shrugged. "It's kinda obvious. You would never do this. Nobody thinks you ever would."

Katie smiled. "Thanks! OK, I have an idea. Stand back."

I walked up to them and snorted. "What're you going to do, cover the cabin in roses?"

Katie rolled her eyes. "Please. We Children of Demeter can do more than you think." She lifted her hand, and a green vine sprouted out of the ground. It crept its way up the cabin and hooked onto the roof. Then, another sprout broke off of the first one and zigzagged along the vine, creating a hanging ladder. Katie climbed onto it and motioned for Pollux, Casper, and I to do the same. As soon as our feet hit the bottom rung, the vine pulled us upward until we were standing on top of the Cabin.

Kate shook her hands against her shorts and smirked at me. "Beat that."

Pollux laughed. "Wow Katie, that was awesome!" Castor nodded his head in agreement and looked up at Katie in awe. I jst shrugged. "Aw, that was nothing."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Let's just clean up. Castor, Pollux, you want to help?"

Pollux nodded eagerly, and Castor agreed, too. In a matter of minutes, the Dionysus Cabin was clean. Even the paint on the door had been completely scrubbed. Katie waved goodbye to Castor and Pollux, and we set off. I checked at my watch, and I was surprised to find that it was only 6:30.

Katie then led us to the Apollo Cabin. I waved to my friends Phil and Gabe, and they shot me sympathetic looks. I made a face and nodded.

Katie did the vine thing again, and a crowd gathered around her. Great. Now there had to be people to witness my humiliation. This turned out to be a good thing, though, because when Katie asked if anyone wanted to help, they all raised their hands and grabbed a scrub brush.

When we left the Apollo Cabin, I quickened my pace so that I was standing next to Katie. "I have a quick question."

"Is it because you're wondering why I'm awesome and you're not? That's a very easy question to answer, I can't believe you didn't figure that one out."

I gritted my teeth and forced myself not to yell at her. "No, I was just wondering how you get so many people to help you clean up. I mean, no offense, but you're not exactly popular."

Katie narrowed her eyes at me. "Well, there's this secret thing that you use to get people to do what you want. Want to know what?"

I rolled my eyes, but was still a little curious. "Fine then, tell me if you want."

Katie leaned in like she was about to share top-secret information. "It's called...manners." She whipped her head around and flounced off. I curled my fists into little balls. See? This is why Katie is so annoying!

I followed her around to every cabin, and the results were the same. She would offer to help them clean up, and then ask if they would help her. Almost everyone did. Even the Aphrodite Cabin, who hates getting themselves dirty, offered to help scrub down the windows after Katie decorated their cabin with sweet smelling roses and pink lacey flowers. Finally, we only had one cabin left.

The Ares Cabin.

I smirked. "So, how are you gonna get the Ares to do what you say? Your stupid little manners aren't going to get you anywhere here."

Katie looked at me like a banana peel that had just been pulled out of the garbage can. "Yes, but I can still try. And, if not for me, you'd still be out here scrubbing away at the Dionysus Cabin."

Unfortunately, she had a point. That didn't make her any less bossy, though. On the contrary, I disliked her even more for getting me out of this punishment even quicker using her stupid method.

As we approached the Ares Cabin, I saw fear behind Katie's eyes. Ha. She was never going to get out alive.

Katie walked up to Clarisse and Dan, two Ares campers that were currently trying to scrub the paint off their windows to no avail. Wow, Marianna must have used some super strong spray. "Um, hi, we're here to help clean up your cabin."

Clarisse whirled around and her face contorted into a menacing grin-sneer that would normally make me run for the Hermes Cabin. "So, you two are the little punks that trashed our cabin, huh?!"

Katie shrugged. "It depends on who's telling the story."

Clarisse gave a deep growl from the back of her throat. "You sure about that? What I saw was you two holdin' spray an' standing in the middle of the FREAKIN' CAMP!"

Katie stood her ground. "Well, we're gonna need some help, so..."

Clarisse snarled. "And what makes you think that I'll help you?"

Katie shrugged and pointed a finger towards the cabin. At first I thought she was going to grow a vine again, but I realized that she was doing something else as soon as I saw the first sign of pink. Pink and purple flowers started blooming all over the Ares cabin, growing up vines and trellises, and generally giving the impression of an Aphrodite Cabin.

Clarisse's eyes widened in shock and horror. Howling in rage, she launched herself at Katie, but Katie was too quick. She jumped onto one of the hanging branches and shimmied up it onto the roof before Clarisse even had time to jump at her again. Clarisse tried to climb up the vine after Katie, but the vine snapped under her weight and send a very angry Clarisse tumbling down. I was just standing there in shock with my mouth slightly parted, wondering how long it would take for Clarisse to kill Katie.

Clarisse paced underneath the roof, looking lime a caged lion; hungry for blood and ready to attack. Katie was perched above, dangling her feet and smiling serenely.

Finally, Clarisse yelled up to Katie, "You can't wait up there forever, punk!"

Katie shrugged. "Maybe I can. Unless you help us take down all the grafitti, your cabin is going to be covered in flowers for the rest of the summer."

Clarisse growled. "Will they go away when I KILL YOU?!"

Katie smirked down at Clarisse. "Well, if you kill me, then the curse can never be undone. The Ares Cabin will forever look like Sringtime has barfed on it."

As Clarisse puzzled over this bit of logic, she seemed to notice me for the first time. "What're you looking at, Stoll?"

My eyes widened. "N-nothing."

Quick as a viper, Clarisse grabbed me by the arms and rammed me up against the cabin walls. For a few seconds, my eyesight went fuzzy. When it returned to normal, I could see Katie peering down at me concernedly from the roof. Clarisse was grinning evilly. "You get back down here and change this cabin to normal, or your boyfriend here gets it!" she called up to Katie.

I could almost see the wheels in Katie's head turning. If she came down from the roof, Clarisse would pummel her. But, if she didn't come down, Clarisse would pummel me. I tried to give her my best pleading-look, but my head was still throbbing too hard to concentrate on her face.

Katie straightened up. "OK, I'm coming down." Clarisse smirked. "Thought so," she gloated.

Katie made the vine and shimmied down it. Clarisse waited like a hungry wolf about to get its first meal. Katie's feet touched the bottom, and Clarisse lunged for her- and came up empty-handed. Katie was still holing on to the vine, except now it was spinning her around the cabin. "Come get meeeeeee!" she cried to Clarisse, taunting her. Clarisse jumped up, enraged, and started sprinting around the cabin, howling. Katie went faster and faster until-

"Oomph!" Something had grabbed my shirt and I was suddenly spinning in mid-air. It stopped, and I caught sight of Katie grabbing onto my shirt and pulling me along behind her, away from the Ares Cabin. Clarisse was on our tails like an angry bull, but Katie and I were quick. We zigzagged along the crowds of people and around the strawberry fields. Katie seemed to know where we were going, and even though I didn't, I followed her anyway.

Katie led me to the edge of the forest, and we went through the back end of a prickly shrub that Clarisse certainly wouldn't be able to get through. Katie grabbed on to a low-hanging branch of a tree and helped me climb up it. We waited there for a few minutes, the only sound was our deep breaths. Finally, I whispered, "So much for manners."

Katie lightly punched my shoulder. "Shut up, Stoll." But I could see even in the dim light that she was smiling. "I was pretty amazing, though, wasn't I?"

"Yeah, but I was even more amazing."

"Doing what, getting yourself almost-beat up by a girl? Real smooth."

I laughed. This wasn't so bad, actually. Talking with Katie was like talking with….Connor.

I checked my watch. "It's 3:00. You think we should go back down there, or wait up here for a while?"

Katie shrugged. "Clarisse probably cooled down and went into her cabin. All we have left is the Poseidon Cabin. I can do that by myself. You can go back to your cabin if you want, this will only take a few minutes."

I nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Well, see you tomorrow, bright and early."

Katie grimaced. "Great. Any idea what Chiron has cooked up for us to do tomorrow?"

"Nope. Bye!" I jogged down the hill and started off towards the Hermes Cabin. On impulse, I glanced behind my shoulder and saw Katie outside of the Posiodon Cabin, talking with Tyson, the Camp's only Cyclops. She motioned to the roof, and Tyson nodded eagerlt and produced a broom and mop from inside the cabin. I shook my head and smiled, then turned around for my cabin. Inside my head, I made a mental checklist. _Day 1, complete._

Only six more to go.

**So, thanks for reading! Please review! I would really like some constructive criticism, like what i'm doing wrong or what i need to fix, or how i should write better. Sorry for not posting earlier, but i've just been soooo busy studying for exams and stuff...so yeah. Thanks for reading!**

**BTW, I would love your opinion on what I should do next in the story! Here are some questions-**

**1. What song do you think perfectly sums up Tratie?**

**2. Who should fall in love first- Travis or Katie?**

**3. What is your favorite PJO story?**

**4. How did you find out about fanfiction?**

**Thanks for answering! Anybody who does answer, I'm going to put them in my next chappie! :)**


	4. Day 2 - A Mummy and the Color Pink

Day 2: Bob Bobberson, Special Christmas Edition Hermes Multivitamins, the color pink, and an angry Annabeth

-Katie POV-

On the second day, I woke up with a massive headache.

All last night I'd been tossing and turning, trying to get some sleep. One question kept popping up in my mind; what am I going to do about the dance coming up on Friday? I didn't want to go by myself and look like a loser, but on the other hand, it didn't look like anyone was going to ask me to it. Isabel had been loudly bragging about her date to anyone that would listen. Even Tessie, that girl in Hephaestus who doesn't talk to anyone, has a date. And guess who?! ANDY! While I'm relieved that at least he's out of my hair, I must say, he moves from girls pretty quickly.

So, anyway, I'm running up to the big house at 6:00 in the morning, and rubbing my cold arms. When I finally got to Chiron's office, I saw that Travis was already there. Wow. Beaten by the slacker. As I ran in panting and out of breath, he gave me a questioning look, like _Why are you standing there in the doorway panting like a dog? _I turned to Chiron and announced unnecessarily, "I'm here!"

Chiron nodded. "Good. I must say, I'm surprised that you two finished the cabins so quickly yesterday. Keeping that in mind, I'm shaving a day off your punishment. Instead of working Monday through Friday, you now must only work until Thursday."

I exchanged excited looks with Travis. One day off our punishment? That was better than I could have ever hoped for!

Chiron produced a blank scroll and handed it to Travis and I. "Your task is to take inventory of all the items in the attic and write them down on this piece of parchment. When you are done, come and give it to me."

I bit back a scream and closed my eyes. The attic?! That was one of the creepiest places in all of Camp Half-Blood!

I trudged out of the room with Travis. When we were out of earshot of Chiron, I turned to him. "This is the worst EVER!"

Travis nodded. "Talk about it. Chiron's really got it in for us."

I shrugged. "Well, at least look on the bright side! We get a day off from the punishment!"

Travis gave me a strange look. "How could you be happy at a time like this?"

I rolled my eyes. "Never mind. Let's just get this over with."

We carefully crept up the stairs and opened the screeching door. The mummy was standing there, looking dead as…..well, a mummy. Travis and I hurried over to the Demigod Souvenirs table. When I saw how much stuff was piled up there, I almost fainted. There were piles and piles of junk spilling out all over the table.

"Wouldn't it just be easier to throw it all away?" Travis muttered. I sighed, and we started going through the piles. "Pearl Comb found by Delilah Dringel, 1885," I read out loud from a tag. I wrote it down and tossed it into the pile of already documented things.

"Bottle of Hermes multi-vitamins, Special Christmas Edition, found by Lester Dowley, 1999," Travis called out. "Gods, how ridiculous can this stuff get?"

"Representation of Medusa on a cracker, sent from Ares, found by Larissa Sheehann, 1934," I called out, grinning at Travis.

"Valentine's Day card from Hermes to Camp Half-Blood, found by—wait a second, this is Chiron's handwriting!"

I giggled. "OK, how about this one: Post-it note from Olympus, found by Bob Bobberson!"

Travis narrowed his eyes. "That is so not his name. You're making that up!"

"No, no, it says it right here!" I shoved the label in his face. "Look! Not lying!"

Travis face-palmed. "What kind of a horrible name is Bob Bobberson?!"

I shrugged. "Wow, a brick from the Parthenon in Greece!"

Travis grabbed it from me. "Lemme see that!" He inspected it for a moment. "Yup, just what I thought. It's been super-glued."

I groaned. "I wonder if any of these are actually real!"

Then, I spotted something at the very bottom. I pulled it out. It was a shiny dragon's claw, huge and frightening. Travis's eyes got big. "Whoa- is that really….?"

We both knew what the label would say, but I read it loud anyway. "Palos's claw, found on Mount Atlas by …. Luke Castellan."

It was silent in the attic. I knew that Travis, like me, was thinking about the demigod who turned traitor for Kronos, and sacrificed himself to save all of us.

Travis cleared his throat and picked up another relic. "Hey, check out this: Bottle of water from the river Lethe! Who collected this? Oh, Carolina George. I wonder what would have happened if she fell in while getting this!"

I looked at the label. "Well, she's dead anyway, so no biggie."

We both laughed, and suddenly, Travis Stoll didn't seem so mean. I mean, he was still just as immature, but it wasn't so bad, really, hanging out with him. Weird. I shook myself out of my thought just in time to see Travis picking up a bright pink war helmet and stuffing it on his head. "Sweet!" he yelled. "My war-helmet-maker made it my favorite color!"

I scrunched up my nose. "Somehow, I don't see you as a pink person. Sorry, it's just not your color."

Travis gave a mock sob. "What?! But I love the color pink! It's my life!"

I snickered. Yep, just as immature as always.

When we were done taking inventory of all the items, we headed back downstairs. As we were passing a dolor on the second level, we heard a female giggle coming from a classroom to the left. Travis was about to ask me who the heck it was when I clamped my hand over his mouth. I swore that I knew that giggle. And that person only giggled around another person. And it those two people were in a classroom together… I sensed a golden opportunity.

I pulled out my phone and clicked on the camera app. Technically, you aren't supposed to have phones at Camp, but whatever. Who cares? It's not like we're gonna get a monster attack or anything, Thalia's Tree makes sure of that.

Anyway, I poised my finger over the "Take Picture" button, and tensed. A second later I kicked the door open and started blindly taking rapid-fire shots. I heard a squeal and I turned around and yelled, "Run!" to Travis. We bolted for the stairs with a very angry Annabeth and a very out-of-shape Percy huffing behind us. Annabeth was about to grab me and start beating the pulp out of me when we got to Chiron's room. Travis and I ran in, but closed the door quickly. A moment later, we heard the sound of two bodies hitting the solid wood. Travis quickly locked the door, and we stood to face Chiron, who was glancing at us suspiciously.

I handed him the scroll, and Chiron checked it over. "This seems to be in good shape. You two are free to go now."

"Um, do you have a back entrance?" asked Travis.

Chiron raised an eyebrow, but led us to a door on the other side of the office that led into the Strawberry fields. We hurried out, laughing at the pictures that I had caught on my phone. The first one was blurry, but the second on was just perfect; Annabeth and Percy were mid-kiss, Annabeth with a dreamy look on her face and Percy with a goofy smile. Then the next one showed Annabeth looking at them with a look of pure rage, and then Percy with his mouth half open and a stupid look on his face. Travis and I were just about dying of laughter.

"Oh—my—god!" I gasped. "These are freakin' awesome!"

Travis nodded. "We should show them to everyone at dinner!"

I nodded. "Good idea. I'll use the printer in the Athena cabin. I'd better urry, though before Annabeth gets back. Boy, was she a fast runner."

Travis gave me a lopsided grin. "Am I the only one detecting a pattern in this? Who'll be chasing us next, the Aphrodite Cabin?"

I shuddered. "Gods, I really hope not. Well, see you tonight at dinner!"

He waved. "See ya!"

It felt really weird saying that to Travis Stoll, who I previously hated. Ha. Funny how some things turn out.

_That night at dinner…._

"Here you go!" I said, passing out pictures to everyone at the Apollo table. "Everybody, take one!"

When the kids saw the pictures, they burst out laughing. One guy asked for a sharpie and he started drawing mustaches on the couple. I moved on the Ares table. "Free photos of Annabeth and Percy mid-kiss!" Everyone at the Ares table immediately grabbed a picture. I could see Travis and Connor Stoll passing out the picture to the Hephaestus Table. "Katie took them!" Travis commented proudly. I felt a flutter of excitement. People knew that I took them! This was awesome!

Right up until I turned around to find Annabeth's face about inches from mine. Uh oh.

I ran as fast as I could, throwing pictures at people as I went past their tables.

I was pleased to hear people chanting, "KATIE! KATIE! KATIE!"

Ah, a great end to another day of punishment.

Although, hanging out with Travis isn't as much of a punishment as I had anticipated.

Hmmmm….


	5. Day 3 - Surprises

Day 3: Surprises

Travis POV

Day three. OK. We were one day away from being done. I was glad that I wouldn't have to keep cleaning for Chiron, but I also felt a little disappointed. Why? Well, hanging out with Katie wasn't all bad, and it was easy to talk to her. Once this was over we would go back to our regular lives, and probably never talk to each other again. Oh well. At least there were two days left.

I pulled on shorts and a T-shirt and jogged through the early morning mist towards the Big House for the third time that week. When I entered, it was eerily silent. I walked into Chiron's office and switched on the lights. Chiron wasn't there.

I looked around at all the stuff littered on Chiron's desk. Shiny black records, lots and lots of papers, and an ancient computer. As I was about to turn away, I saw the corner of a CD. Curious, I pulled out the plastic CD case. There was a stick-note on it that read "To Dear Chiron, This is one of my favorite movies. If you find time to watch it, please do! From Your Friend, Iris" Upon closer inspection, I saw that the movie was called 'Tangled'. It was an animated Disney movie- not really my type, but I knew who might like it. I shoved it under a cushion right as Chiron walked – I mean, cantered - in. He shot me a suspicious look, but didn't question me. A moment later, Katie walked in, her ponytail frizzled from the mist. She gave me a quick smile, and then sat down on the couch. I did the same, and Chiron cleared his throat.

"Thank you for being here. Today, you will be cleaning the windows of the Big House. And," he continued with a pointed look at Katie, "You are not allowed to use magic. The hose is right next to the stone centaur on the right wall. A basket of soap is right next to it. When you are done, come to me for inspection, and you may leave."

Katie shot me a _why have we been cursed like this? _look, and I shrugged. We hurried out of the room. "Clean the windows of the Big House?! Without magic?! That could take hours! It's like all he does is sit around and think up torturous things for us to do!"

I nodded in agreement. "We should probably get started then."

We found the hose and started with the West side. We pointed the hose at the glass, and all the dirt rubbed off. Then, I had to hoist Katie onto my shoulders for her to reach some of them.

After about an hour, the campers came out to see what the heck was going on. When they saw Katie and I washing the windows, they laughed. I gritted my teeth.

Katie groaned and wiped the sweat off her forehead. It was getting hot outside, and Katie's cheeks had a cute little pink blush to them from the sun….wait, WHAT?! No, no, no, Katie was NOT cute. She was just my friend. Not even that! I mean, for pete's sake, I just met her! I shook my head violently, and Katie gave me a strange look like my brain was going funny or something.

"Is the sun getting to you, Travis?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. I realized with a shock that this was the first time she had called me by my name. "Uh, yeah. Fine. Totally."

"Okaaaaayy…" Katie nodded, but she still looked at me skeptically. "Well, I'm baking out here, literally."

I grinned evilly. "Oh yeah, well, I think you need some cooling off." I grabbed the hose and pointed it in her direction. She screamed as the icy water poured over her, getting her soaking wet. She turned to me. "Oh, it is SO on!" She grabbed the other hose, and just like that, I was freezing cold. I gasped as the water splashed me headlong. Katie laughed.

"Come on, show me what you got!" she taunted.

I made a grab for her hose, but she was too fast and swiped it out of my reach. The Good News: I sprayed her in the face. The Bad News: my flip flops didn't grasp the ground, and I slipped and fell into the mud.

"Uuuurrgg….." I groaned as I picked myself up. At the sight of me, Katie started laughing so hard that she slipped backwards into the mud. We were both laughing so hard that we sat down and took a deep breath. "Wow, you are sooo muddy, Stoll," Katie gasped. I snorted. "You looked at yourself lately, Gardiner?" Katie turned to look at me, and I couldn't help but notice that her eyes were bright green, and right now they were sparkling with laughter. I didn't know that it was possible for someone's eyes to sparkle, but that's what Katie's eyes did. They sparkled.

Katie cleared her throat, and I realized that I had just been staring at her eyes for the past three seconds. I looked down. "Sorry. Just spacing out. We should probably get back to work." I pushed myself up and offered a hand to Katie. Looking surprised, she took my hand and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. "Thanks," she mumbled. There was nothing really to say, and so we continued cleaning the windows with minimal talking.

We moved to the front of the Big House. Then to the East side. There was one window that was stained so badly that Katie couldn't make a dent in it. "Hey, Stoll!" she called, "come help me with this!"

I nodded and hurried over. Katie was rubbing at a spot on the window that stubbornly refused to budge. "Here, let me help you."

I took my rag and mov3d to help her, and my arm brushed hers. It was the smallest contact; small enough to go unnoticed, but it was as if an electric current had gone up my arm. It felt warm where she had touched me, and the warmth spread all over. I glanced quickly at her, but she didn't seem affected at all. Did she feel the same thing I had? I blinked and frowned. Why was I acting so weird? What the heck was going on with me?

Katie was bubbly and cheery the whole rest of the time, and though I put on a calm and confident face, inside I was conflicted. Why was I noticing little things about Katie, like how her lips quirked up when she smiled, and how she fingered the frayed edges on her shorts. I felt a strong and sudden urge to tuck the little strand of reddish brown hair hanging in her face behind her ear, and I immediately scolded myself. "What the heck?"

Katie turned to me, and I realized with a shock that I had spoken out loud. "Huh?"

"Uh- I mean- why the heck aren't we done?"

Katie looked like she knew that there was something more to it, but thankfully, she just shrugged and said, "Well, we just have two more windows left, and then we're done."

"OK, how about you go to your cabin and clean up. I'll finish these last two windows, and then we'll go to Chiron together."

Katie tilted her head quizzically. "Why are you doing this for me?"

I made a mock sad face. "What, so you're surprised that Bad Boy Travis is a kindhearted human being?"

She snorted. "I wouldn't go as far to say that. No, I'm not surprised, just- well- interested." With that, she turned around and headed off to her cabin.

I didn't have time to dwell on her words, though. I hurried with the last windows and then snuck inside to The Big House. I peeked my head into Chiron's room, and I was relived to find that he wasn't there. I hurried over to the couch and pulled out the DVD and stuffed it into the waistband of my shorts. A moment later, Katie walked in with new clothes on and smelling like strawberries. I resisted the urge to sniff her and instead asked her where Chiron was.

"Oh, he's coming," Katie assured me. "He just went to inspect the windows."

I took a deep breath. "Well, we better cross our fingers for luck!" Katie laughed but crossed her fingers anyway. A few minutes later, Chiron entered and congratulated us on the windows and announced that we were free to go.

Once in the hall, Katie and I gave a silent cheer. "The finger-crossing thing actually worked!"

I laughed. "Don't sound so surprised," I waggled my finger at her.

Katie shrugged. "Finally, that's over."

"Yeah, ummm," I took a deep breath. "I was wondering if you would meet me by that tree we hid in on the first day ten minutes after campfire. I have a surprise for you."

Behind my back, I crossed my fingers. What if she said no? On the first day, she made it very clear that she hated my guts. Things had changed….but still….

"OK, sure! See you then!" Katie smiled and turned around and walked towards her cabin.

I watched her go with a feeling in my stomach…something that was indiscernible. Something he had never felt before.

Shrugging it off, I headed towards my own cabin. I tried the knob and realized with exasperation that it was locked. I took out my key and opened the door—and almost fell over. In the center of the Hermes room, Connor was making out with Allison. I cleared my throat loudly and they broke apart. Allison glared at me and stalked out of the room, muttering something about indecent people named Travis Stoll. Connor gave me a weak smile. "Bro, please don't tell anyone about that."

I smirked and clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, man. I'm good."

Connor looked relived. "You're the best brother ever."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm your only brother."

Connor gave me his crooked smile. "Exactly! Hey, you with anyone for the dance on Friday?"

I shook my head.

"Well, bro, you need to get a girl soon. I bet tons of hot Aphrodite babes will be drooling over you right this minute. I'll find someone great, you'll see."

"Fine," I grunted, secretly thinking about who I would want to ask, but probably never would.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

During dinner, I was jittery. There's no other word to describe it. Connor gave me a few funny looks, but I ignored them. I forced myself not to look over at the Demeter table, where Katie was laughing and joking with her friends. I was nervous about tonight. What if something went wrong?

The campfire was led by the Apollo's, as always. There was a really pretty girl standing in front of us. "Her name is Dillan Rose," Connor hissed in my ear. "Wouldn't she be a good girl for you to take to the dance?"

I wasn't listening. "What? Oh, hmmmm, yeah, whatever."

Connor nodded. "OK, I'll get her number."

I rolled my eyes and concentrated on the fire, which was roaring. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. "Connor, I'm going to go back to the cabin early, OK?"

Connor nodded absently. "Yeah, fine."

I slipped out of my seat and walked silently under cover of the dark to the Hermes cabin. I grabbed a black backpack and put in a small portable CD player, a tiny bag of popcorn, and the movie 'Tangled'.

I snuck out to the forest while everyone was walking back from the campfire. I sat at the bottom of the tree and set up the portable CD player. I shook the CD out of the plastic case and slid it onto the CD slot. Then, I had nothing to do but wait.

I started to feel nervous. What if Katie didn't come? What if she decided that she actually did hate me? What if—

"Hey Stoll."

I looked up to see Katie standing above me, wearing a jacket and black jeans. "What's that?" she asked curiously, leaning down to see the portable CD player. "Is that….a movie?"

I patted the ground next to me, indicating for her to come sit next to me. "It's not just any movie, Gardiner. This is the Disney movie 'Tangled'."

Katie laughed. "Why 'Tangled'?"

I shrugged. "It was the only one I could find in Chiron's office."

Katie sat down next to me and lightly punched me in the shoulder. "Seriously, Stoll, why are you being nice to me?"

I had to think about that. Honestly, I had no idea, but I said, "Well, I thought, since we only ever spend time doing horrible things with each other, we could do something fun!"

"As in watching a Disney movie in the middle of the night outside? Geez, Travis, you really know how to treat a girl."

"Do you want to watch or not?"

Katie sighed and moved closer to me to see the screen. We were pleasantly squished next to each other, and I smiled and pressed PLAY.

The movie was about an hour and a half, but it was one of the best movies I have ever seen. Despite it being an animated Disney princess movie, it was hilarious. I mean, who else besides Disney can come up with a pub full of dream-loving tough guys, a killer horse named Max, and a love story so sweet that you want to scream like a fangirl reading percebeth? ( and NO, I do not read percebeth fanfiction… OK, maybe just a little bit)

When the movie was over, Katie sighed contentedly. "That was sweet."

I wiggled my eyebrows. "Possibly. It might possibly have been good."

Katie snorted. "Oh please. You were just about wetting your pants when the horse came in!"

I shrugged. "So what? I liked the Disney princess movie."

Katie narrowed her eyes. "I see blackmail in your near future."

I groaned. "All right, let's go back to our cabins."

Katie tuned to me. "Yeah."

One again, I was mesmerized by her green eyes. I was only partly aware that  
I was leaning slightly closer to her. And was she moving slightly closer to me?

"HOO HOO!"

I almost fell backwards. An owl near us had hooted loudly. I saw Katie start blushing. "Let's go."

I nodded. "Good idea."

Later that night, I was talking to Connor, but I couldn't concentrate.

"Trav, what is up with you?" Connor asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing."

Connor smirked. "Is it a girl?"

"Wait- what? It might be. I don't know!"

Connor shrugged. "Well, if I didn't know any better, id've thought that the dark and mysterious Travis Stoll was in love!"

I shrugged. "Maybe."

When I was lying in bed, I thought about what Connor has said. Was I in love with Katie?

Was that the right word to describe it?

I turned over in my bed, and I realized, that it was eactly the right word.


	6. Day 4- Shipping and the Wrath of Isabel

**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been really busy with schoolwork and such.**

**BTW- the term "shipping" was NOT made up by me, although I totally made Callison and Abico up. :)**

**Mari- who do you want to be shipped with?**

**For anyone who wants to know, Isabel's last name is Kabra. :P I hope all you 39ers enjoy that little bit of Cahill humor!**

***A NOTE: In this story, people can date other people from their cabin and it's not considered gay or anything. Just putting that out there….***

Day 4: Secrets

If someone had told me a week ago that Travis Stoll and I would watch the movie 'Tangled' in the forest at night, I would have referred them to a mental hospital.

I still couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that we had done that.

Travis Stoll and I had hung out.

Wait—was that a date?!

No – impossible.

Travis had been acting weirdly all day, though. And right as they were leaving, there had been a moment, where….. I almost thought….no. There was nothing and never would be anything between Travis Stoll and me. Never.

Then why did I feel so full when we were together?

Today was the last day of punishment. I reflected on our chores as I dressed in the semi-darkness. The first day was horrible, with Clarisse chasing us, the second day was better, and yesterday had just been plain weird. But I was ready to make the best of the last day.

I was just leaving the cabin when I felt someone grab my shoulder. "Wait just a second, Katie."

I spun around to find Isabel grasping my shoulder with her long hot pink talons –excuse me, fingernails. She had twisted her pretty features into a sneer, and I felt a sudden instinct to back away. I scolded myself. Why should this girl scare me?

"Isabel, what the hck are you doing up at-," I checked my watch, "-at 5:45 in the morning?"

Isabel smiled sweetly, a sure sign that she was up to something. "Well, I would've asked the same thing to you last night when you came to the cabin past curfew with twigs in your hair- or whatever you call the disgusting mop of tangles on top of your head."

White hot panic surged through me. Isabel knew that I was up last night? "….You're lying!"

Isabel laughed a tinkling little laugh, and I was instantly reminded of Tinker Bell from Peter Pan. "Oh, Katie, I have no proof so far, but I will find out where you were."

I stood up straighter and threw her hand off my shoulder. "Thanks for your _concern_, Isabel, but I'm doing just fine without you snooping into my business."

Isabel narrowed her eyes scarily, making her seem much less pretty. "If this has anything to do with Travis Stoll, I swear Katie, I will-"

"Travis? Travis Stoll? From Hermes Cabin?" I tried to give a convincing laugh.

Isabel smiled. "Yes, Travis. I know that you two have been getting friendly, but he's mine! He's going to ask me to the dance! I know it! So you better not ruin my plans!"

I held up my hand. "Wait a sec. First of all, Travis is NOT yours! He's nobody's. Secondly, how would you know he;s going to ask you to the dance? I thought you were already going with someone from Apollo?"

Isabel rolled her eyes. "Charlie Sunniva? Oh, please. I turned him down yesterday. No, the only good looking boys in this camp are the Stoll brothers, and one of them's already taken. Apparently, Connor Stoll is going out with that nerd Allison Hiles from Hermes."

I instantly flared up. Allison was one of my best friends, along with Abby Hart and Marianna Bowers. Isabel had no right insulting them. (Even though Allison and Hannah from Demeter had started a debate during dogeball about whether you could change their fate or not—weird!)

"Well, I guess that's just too bad, Isabel. Maybe Claire can hook you up with some loser from Hephaestus, since that's probably the best you could ever do anyway."

Isabel's eyes burned. "You'll be sorry you said that, Katie Gardner." And she spun around angrily and stalked towards the bathrooms.

I took a deep breath and hurried up to the Big House.

On the way, I spotted Travis Stoll. I hurried over and waved. "Hey. What's going on?"

Travis shrugged. "Nothing much. Slept horribly last night." He gave a huge yawn.

Travis did look pretty bad. His eyes were bloodshot, and he had dark bags around them. His step had lost its swagger, and he shuffled along, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

We walked up to the Big House. I told him about my encounter with Isabel, but left out a few details. Like how she said that Travis was hers. But I did tell him about the part where Isabel was talking about Allison and Connor.

Travis smiled. "Yeah, almost everyone from the Hermes Cabin has been shipping them. We were so happy when Connor finally asked her out."

"Wait, you _shipped _them? What the heck does that mean?"

"Shipping is like pairing. So, if you're shipping two people, then you're rooting for them to get together."

I smiled. "That's cute. Like Percy and Annabeth! Everyone was shipping them!"

Travis nodded. "And also Abby and Nico. I guess you would call that Abico."

"Or Niabby."

"Yeah. So Connor and Allison would be…."

"Callison!" I cried triumphantly. "And Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley would be…"

"Harrinny. And Ian and Amy would be…."

"Amian! And Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy would be… "

"Elizarcy! And Rapunzel and Flynn Rider- excuse me, Eugene- from Tangled would be…"

"Eugunzel! Or Rapuene! But I like Eugunzel better."

Travis smiled at me, and completely against my will, my stomach got all tingly. "There," he said. "That's shipping."

We had reached the Big House. Travis opened the door and exaggeratedly bowed. "Madame."

I shook my head and gestured for him to go. "No, no, ladies first."

Travis stuck his tongue out at me, but went inside anyway. I followed, and in no time, we were at Chiron's door.

Travis turned to me. "Ready to find out what Chiron's gonna punish us for today?"

I shrugged. "Be strong, m'lady."

"Shut up."

**Sorry, that was a little short... I work on some more later. **

**BTW- my sister made this website and she needs to get people to look at it and vote for outfits and such for this Tech Club thing she's doing. So, please click on this link and check out her website! Thanks: **

** site/bitterblueorchid/**

**Abby- Don't you think that Isabel should TOTALLY be shipped with Marcus Sonlit? Hmmm, I think I shall call it... Marcabel! :P For any of you that have no idea what the heck i'm talking aboutgo to Abby's (awesomesaucum's) story, "Baby, it is you" It is also a Tratie!**

**My friend Allison (yes, the same one that i'm shipping with Connor) whose name is AmianNatan4ever, is doing a poll for any 39 Clues-ers out these. So...yeah. Thanks. I'm pretty sure that that's it! Oh- WAIT! I FORGOT TO DO THE DISCLAIMER! I'll go add it up at the top. See, Allison? I finally remembered.**

**And I sincerely hope that you all are shipping Travis and Katie.**

**BTW- Do you think that Isabel should turn good, or stay bad? Please answer me!**

**R&R! Thanks so much! Reviews always brighten my day! :)**


	7. Day 4 Continued- Streamers and Secrets

**OK, so sorry I haven't been posting in a while! BTW: This is my favorite story that I've written. I'm having so much fun! :) Please R&R! Wait, i'm forgetting something. Oh yeah! DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series, or Travis, or Katie. :(**

Day 4 Cont.: Streamers and Stargazer Lilies 

-Katie POV-

Chiron was busy when we walked into his room, so Travis and I had to sit on the couch. Lilac and Starlet from Aphrodite cabin were pleading with him. "But _Chiron!_" pleaded Lilac, "there _has_ to be _some_ way! If _not_, I think I would _die!"_

"And what a shame that would be," Travis muttered in my ear. I gave a quiet laugh, and for the first time, realized how close we were sitting next to each other. And how poofy my hair was that day. Wait- why was I worrying about that? I never worried about my hair! It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that Travis Stoll and I were literally sitting so close that we could be joined at the hip or something! Could it?

I tried to concentrate on the Lilac and Starlet and not on the fact that Travis smelled like peppermints.

"We, like, need to, like, put up the decorations, like, now!" Starlet was complaining. "Without it, the dance will, like, be soooo, like, boring!" Lilac nodded in agreement, sending her blond hair cascading down her back.

Chiron sighed. "I'm just afraid that there will be no time to put up the streamers and glitter! The counselors are working over-time anyway, as it is."

Lilac turned around to look at Travis and I, and squealed. "OMG! Travis and Katie can do it!"

Chiron scratched his beard. "Well…."

"Like, PLEASE?" pleaded Starlet.

Chiron sighed again. "Fine. Travis and Katie will do the decorations. Now, you two girls need to go back to your cabins."

"EEEEIIIIIII!" Lilac and Starlet screamed and gave Travis and me huge hugs. "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" They bounced out of the room.

Travis turned to me. "What just happened?"

Chiron ran his hands through his hair. "Well, I believe we have found a chore for you to do today. There are some streamers, glitter, and wall hangings, provided by the Aphrodite Cabin, in the shed. You two need to hang them up and decorate the dining pavilion for the dance tomorrow. When you are done, you may go back to your cabins. You will be done with all the chores you need to do. Your punishment will be over. Thank you."

As we walked out of the office, Travis and I exchanged relived looks. This was easy! Hanging up some decorations? Cake. We'd have it knocked out in 30 minutes.

However, when we got to the shed, our happiness was greatly dampened. As usual, the Aphrodite cabin had gone way over the top. Mounds of rolls of streamers were stacked on top of each other. There were about 15 disco balls and lights. And don't even get me started on the glitter.

Travis groaned. "We have to put up all of this?"

I shrugged. "Let's see how much we can actually fit."

We borrowed a wheelbarrow that was leaning against the side of the shed and stuffed all of the streamer rolls into it. Then, we wheeled it towards the dining pavilion. It was too early in the morning for anyone to be there, and it was also off limits for anyone except the counselors to go in. Everyone was eating in the campfire pit starting today so that we could set up for the dance. Everyone was excited, and everybody we passed was chatting about the dance. "Who are you going with?" and "What are you wearing?" As far as I knew, I was going with nobody, and I was wearing nothing. I wasn't even planning on going. At all.

As soon as we got into the pavilion, Travis turned to me. "Hey, can you do your vine thing again? It would definitely be easier to put up the streamers if the vine could carry us around."

I nodded. "Hey, that's a good idea!"

Travis stuck his tongue out at me. "Don't sound so surprised, Miss Priss."

"Just grab the roll of streamers."

Travis gave me a lopsided grin and I felt a swooping sensation in my stomach, almost like when you're going down on a roller coaster. I smiled back and raised my hand. Vines shot out of the ground and twisted together to make a platform for Travis. When he stepped on, they rose up slowly to the top of the columns. He started taping the streamers up, while I started spreading glitter on the tables, floor, and lots of other weird places. When we finished, we picked up the wall hangings and started taping them to the walls. It was easy; I handed two pieces of tape to Travis, he taped the thing up, and we moved on. For the first time in a really long time, I started to think. About how nice it was today, and how close Travis was to me, and how his hair was tousled a little from the breeze and it smelled really good, and-

"So, are you going to the dance with anyone?"

Startled, I turned to Travis. His cheeks looked a little pink. "Um, no. I don't think I'm going to go. You?"

Travis shook his head. "Haven't ask asked anyone yet." He looked out of the pavilion and into the strawberry fields. "So, I don't know anything about you. Tell me. What's your family like?"

Well, that was a sudden change of subject. "My dad lives in Illinois. He grows peaches."

Travis made a face. "Peaches are fuzzy. They have fur."

"Peaches do not have fur!"

"Do too."

"You sound like a Kindergartener." I continued, "My dad's girlfriend is like, this eco-hippie. She's really nice, but kinda embarrassing, too. She drives this eco-friendly van that looks like something from Scooby-doo."

"Groovy, dude."

"But I'm a year-rounder. I- I don't see them very much. Too many monsters. I was ruining my dad's life. He was afraid every second of every day. I had to come back to protect him."

Travis nodded. "Yeah, my mom is like that. Scared of monsters. My stepdad doesn't know about, you know, the whole demigod thing, so I don't visit a lot."

"Yeah, I guess it's the same for a lot of us. But I've found a home at Camp Half-blood."

Travis smiled. "OK, so what's your favorite….flower. You're a child of Demeter, so you have to have a favorite flower!"

I laughed. "Stargazer Lilies. You can find them in the woods; they're everywhere. Here, I even have a hair clip with a Stargazer Lily on it." I pulled out my ponytail holder, and my hair fell all around my shoulders. Travis looked at it for a moment, and then said, "You should wear your hair down."

I blushed. "Well, here is a Stargazer Lilly." I showed him the clip that I had attached to my hair band, and he nodded. "Cool."

I was about to pull my hair back when Travis grasped my arm. "Wait." He took my hair band and pulled the clip off of it. Then, he took the clip and used it to push back a few strands of hair leaning in my eyes. My heart had started beating ten times faster than normal, and Travis' touch was light. It made my insides turn to goo. He smiled at me. "There. Perfect."

We stood there smiling like idiots for a moment, and then Travis opened his mouth. "Hey, so, about the dance-"

And in that moment, I knew he was going to ask me to the dance.

And then I heard the click-clack of high-heels on marble. We spun around to find a glamorous girl smiling at Travis. I vaguely remembered her name, maybe Dillan?

She wiggled her fingers. "Hi, Travis! Connor told me. Can't wait to go to the dance with you tomorrow night!"

I recoiled from Travis like I'd been slapped. I turned to him. "You—you—I HATE you, Travis Stoll!"

And I ran from the pavilion, tears streaking down my face.

If only happy ever afters came so easily, like they did for the people in Tangled.

Well, life's not a fairy tale, Katie. Grow up.

I ran to the Demeter cabin and collapsed on my bed, sobbing.

If I hadn't been so busy trying to get out of the pavilion, I would've noticed Isabel standing in the shadows, smirking.

**NOOOOO! Isabel we hate you! BTW: Travis was trying to ask Katie out, and Connor actually didn't tell Dillan that Travis wanted to go to the dance with her, it was Isabel. And Dillan doesn't actually like Travis, she's just doing it for Isabel. MEANIES! Isabel will never steal Travis away...will she? We'll see...in my next chappie! R&R! Please review if you have any good ideas!**

**Cheers!**


	8. Stupid, Stupid Life

**Hi, anyone who's still reading this! Sorry I haven't been posting, it's just...so...much...homework! I honestly think i'm going to die. Anyway, R&R! Thanks so much! Hope you like it!**

Just when everything was going perfectly, the world came crashing down.

I tried going into my cabin and just laying on my bed, but every time I closed my eyes, there was Katie. Katie and I glaring at each other. Katie holding up junk from the attic. Katie sopping wet, smiling so wide her freckles popped. Katie leaning in that night in the woods. Katie staring at me in shock, hurt, as she ran away from me.

I had tried to follow her, pushing Dillan out of the way and yelling her name, but she either didn't hear me or didn't care. Great. Katie would never smile at me again. She would hate me. She probably did hate me.

I didn't return to the pavilion. I didn't want to go back and see Dillan's stupid smirking face. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

I tried going to the Demeter cabin, but there was a large scary blonde girl with a deep voice outside the cabin that told me that Katie wasn't talking to anyone, and if I set one foot in there, she would strangle me with roses. Now, normal people would laugh at this threat, but the girl seemed dead serious, and I happened to know that rose stems had wicked thorns. I hurried back to my own cabin.

About an hour later, Connor came in from archery practice with a huge smile on his face. He took one look at me and his smile melted instantly. "Whoa man. What happened in the last four hours?"

I turned to Connor. My eyes were bloodshot and my hair probably looked like a nest of some sort. "Did you tell Dillan that I was going with her to the dance tonight?"

Connor's eyes widened. "Bro, why would I do that?"

I shrugged. "Just wondering."

Connor gave me a funny look. "I think maybe you should stay here for lunch."

I nodded. "Good idea. I'll just chill here."

Connor nodded, still looking at me funny. "OK, bro. Whatever you say. I'll make sure the campers stay out for a while."

I nodded, giving up the strength to speak. Connor left.

Stupid, stipud, stupid life.

Despite Connor's promise, a minute later someone came into the cabin. My eyes instantly flew open, hoping against hope that it was Katie, but my heart sank when I found myself looking at Allison. She gave a double take. "Did I miss a tornado or something? Why do you look like you've been run over by a tractor?"

I groaned. "Long story."

Allison grabbed her knife and started out the door of the cabin, but paused. She looked like she was struggling with a decision. Finally she sat down on the end of the bed. "I think I know what happened."

I sate straight up. "You do?" How could Allison, of all people, know what I was going through? She wasn't one of Katie's friends. OK, so she was my brother's girlfriend, but Connor didn't know.

Allison cleared her throaght uncomfortably. "I heard some gossip from the Aphrodite cabin the other day. Thay said that Isabel was planning some sort of…accident so that you would 'stop looking at Katie with cow eyes.'

"Hey!" I protested.

She shrugged. "I'm just quoting them. Anyway, you do know Isabel, right?"

I had a vague memory of a pretty girl with too much make-up and shiny dark hair passing me sometimes and waving. I'd never really given her any thought. "I guess so."

"Well, everyone know she likes you. Except you, obviously. So, she probably set something up. What happened."

This was completely unreal, confiding in Allison about my heartbreak. It was comforting, in a way, to get it all out. Allison was a good listener. When I was done, she nodded sympathetically. "You've got it bad. Listen, Isabel defenitely set that up. But Katie doesn't know that. We have to somehow convince her that it was Isabel."

"That won't be easy."

"Of course it won't! We'll need help. Lots. But we are going to get you to that dance with Katie."

"Thanks- wait, _we?_"

From behind the cracked door came Marianna and Abby, grinning from ear to ear. "We're in."

"Great." Allison smiled. "Then we're ready. So, here's the plan."

…

-Katie POV-

This was, no contest, the worst day of my life.

I had got Hannah to guard the cabin door and I burrowed myself into my bed. So this was what heartbreak was like. Which was dumb, considering that I had only liked Travis since yesterday night. When we watched that movie together, and we might have almost sort of kissed…. UGH! Stupid brain! Shut UP! Shut UP!

I skipped lunch. I didn't want my friends to see me like this. Completely broken. My hair was a nightmere. My face was red from crying. My voice was raw.

And there was no chance that I was ever going to the dance. Zip. Nada. Why would I, just so I could see Travis and that Aphrodite girl dance all night? Laughable.

I still couldn't understand why Travis had done that to me. Was it some sort of game to him? Was he just toying with my feelings? If so, I hated him even more then before all this. I wish I didn't have to do the chores with him. Get caught holding silly spray with him. Most of all, liking him.

I wish I had never even heard of Travis Stoll.

Maybe I could just stay under the covers my entire life. That would work, wouldn't it? I could have my meals brought up to me. Maybe I could just dump some water on myself every once and a while. That could work, right?

Oh, who was I kidding?

I heard a knock on the door, and Hannah came in holding a package. I lifted my head a little bit. "Hannah?"

"Package for you, Katie. It's from your stepmom."

I wrinkled my nose, but inched out of bed. My stepmom sent the worst presents sometimes; like organic sweatpants the color of straw and peace sunglasses and all. But when I opened the box, I gave a quiet gasp. Out came tumbling a dress. It was a pale pink color, and as soft as a flower. It had tiny little pink straps and a ruffled skirt. It was the most beautiful dress I had ever seen. As I held it up to te light, a note came tumbling out. I leaned down and read what it said:

_Dear Katie-Kat,_

_Your father told me about the dance coming up, and I wanted to give you this gift. It was my sister's, who is now in college. I don't wear things like this; think of how many silk workms were killed in the process! But you are a beautiful young lady, and you deserve a beautiful new dress. I love you very much. If you ever feel like coming home for a visit, we will be here for you._

_Love,_

_Annalee (your stepmom)_

I smiled. Best. Stepmom. Ever! Then I sat back down as realization struck. I wasn't going to the dance. I was never leaving this cabin.

I took one look at the dress. Then at my reflection in the mirror. Back at the dress. Reflection. Dress.

I made a decision. I crept over to Isabel's bunk and pulled out a huge box. Inside were tons of hair products. I chose the Silky Shimmer Spray conditioner and a curling iron. Then, I shoved the box under the bed and hurried to the bathroom. I had a lot of work to do if I was going to go to the dance.

**Yaaayyy! She's going to the dance! And, for anyone who didn't get the other memo, IN THIS STORY, YOU CAN DATE OTHER PEOPLE FROM YOUR CABIN AND IT'S NOT INCEST!**

**Let me repeat that.**

**YOU CAN DATE OTHER PEOPLE FROM YOUR CABIN AND IT'S NOT INCEST!**

**Only in this story, though. In the actual PJO book, it would be really weird.**

**Cheers, iheartamianplusnatan.**


	9. Playing With Knives

**Hi! So, yeah, I had a lit of free time today so I decided to write the next chappie. There's only one left! I'm so sad! This has been my favorite story to write, you guys, so thanks for reading it! :) **

**Yes, I know, this does have a slightly disturbing name.**

*********************************IMPORTANT MESSAGE**************************************

**I am doing this character exchange thing with ****awesomesaucum ****where she puts one of my characters in her Tratie and I put one of her characters in my story. So, the character i'm borrowing is... Marcus Sonlit. (she borrowed Isabel, BTW) So, if you're wondering why I just randomly pushed this guy in here- that's why. :) **

**Some background on Marcus Sonlit****: Marcus first debuted in ****Baby it is you****, a PO fanfiction by awesomesaucum. He is a stalker and a creeper, and has an obsession with knives. He is from the Apollo cabin.**

*****************************END OF IMPORTANT MESSAGE************************************

Playing With Knives

_That afternoon:_

_Isabel walked up to the Apollo cabin. She knocked on the door, and not waiting for someone to answer, burst in. _

_There was only one person sitting on his bed. Marcus Sonlit, who was absently picking the dirt off his knife with the bottom of his sneaker._

_Isabel clapped her perfectly manicured hands. "Marcus! Earth to Marcus!"_

_Marcus' eyes became focused. He stood and brushed the dirt off his shorts. "Isabel. What's going on?"_

_Isabel's mouth stretched into a cold smile. "I need your help with a little job. I want Travis Stoll to dance with me at the party tonight."_

_Marcus narrowed his eyes. "Well, what's in it for me?"_

_Isabel laughed. "Well, everyone knows that you like Katie. All you have to do is get her to a secret place and keep her there for a while. I don't care what you do. Or-" her eyes slid over to Marcus's assortment of knives. "-or what you threaten to do. Just keep that little viper busy."_

_Marcus gave a low chuckle. "Deal."_

-Travis POV—

The dance was awesome.

There were magical lights strung all around the columns, and there was a slight breeze that smelled of strawberries. The sky was an amazing collage of purples and blues and pinks. The food was amazing- home cooked by some of the Dryads, and the music was amazing. Charlie Sunniva and his band were playing, but at the moment, there was an iPod hooked up to the speakers and One Direction was playing. (_really? Who put that on?)_ I saw Allison and Connor on the dance floor with Abby and Nico, having a blast. It was an amazing dance.

And I was completely and utterly miserable.

Katie wasn't here. What if she didn't show at all? What would I do then? Allison had instructed me to just sit by the punch bowl and look handsome, but right now, I was pretty much failing miserably. What? It's hard to look handsome when you're checking your watch every minute and just standing there like a loner. As it neared 9:00, I was ready to give up and go back to my cabin.

Then, I saw someone walking in to the pavilion. She was wearing a pink dress that looked softer than a cloud. She had freckles and shiny reddish-brown hair hanging in tiny ringlets around her face. Then, she turned around and I realized with a start that it was Katie Gardiner.

Without thinking, I started walking towards her. She had just started to talk to some of her Demeter friends, and they were hugging her excitedly, but when she saw me, her eyes widened. She started walking in the opposite direction. I followed, quicker this time, she started walking quicker too. If anyone gave us funny looks, I didn't notice.

Finally, worn out, Katie stopped. I caught up to her. "Hey."

She gave me a look of great disgust. "Why aren't you dancing with Dillan? Don't you have better things to do than chase me around the stupid pavilion?" Her words were like shards of ice. Frosty and cold.

"Um, well, actually…"

"Or have you already moved on? Geez, I didn't know you moved from girl to girl so quickly. It probably would have been good to know."

"No, Katie, it wasn't me, it was-"

"Oh, spare me. I don't want to listen to your pathetic little excuses. I came here to spend time with my friends, not avoid you. So, if you'll just let me get by, then I'll have a fun night, you'll have a fun night, and we'll forget that anything happened." She tried to push past me, but I stuck my arm out. "No, wait."

"For what?" she snapped, wrenching my arm away. "Just leave me alone, Travis Stoll. The game is up. You of all people should know that."

Before I could react, Katie started running. She ran out of the pavilion and into the darkness. I groaned and ran my fingers through my hair. What was going on?

As I was staring out after Katie, a shadow detached itself and started following her. It was Marcus Sonlit. He wasn't what scared me. No, what scared me were the two knives attached to his belt.

I started to run after him when a hand grasped my shoulder. I turned and saw the pretty face of Isabel staring at me. "Why, hello Travis."

I shook her hand from my shoulder. "Get away from me!"

Isabel smiled dazzlingly, but all I could think about was how she set me up. "Oh, sweetie, how 'bout you dance with me for a bit? I saw how Katie was treating you. You deserve better." She fluttered her eyelashes. "You deserve me."

I took a step back, but Isabel took a step forward. "You know you want to dance with me, Trav. I can see it in your eyes."

That's when I snapped. First of all, _nobody_ calls me Trav. Secondly, how could this lunatic think that I liked her? Not after she made Katie hate me.

"You know what?" I snapped. "You're wrong. I want nothing to do with you. Nothing at _all_. Get away from me!" I turned and ran out of the pavilion, after Katie.

-Katie POV—

Well, the night definitely could have gone better.

I was sitting at the edge of the woods, breathing heavily, trying not to cry. Travis was being such a jerk! He was following me around, trying to play with my emotions more, and I hated it.

No, I hated him.

As I was sitting there on the ground, feeling bad for myself, I heard a rustle of leaves to my left. I turned, and there was Marcus Sonlit. I didn't know him that well, but he kinda creeped me out. There was always this maniacal look in his eyes, like he would gut anyone that crossed him. And, from camp gossip, I heard that he has an obsession with knives. Sounds psycho to me. Anyway, when I saw him, I scooted back a little, my eyes wide with surprise. "Oh, um, Marcus. I didn't see you there."

He gave me a wry smile, and, much to my displeasure, sat down next to me. I scooted a little farther away.

"I heard about how that Stoll kid treated you. He's a dweeb."

I nodded, unsure of where our conversation was going.

"Well, just so you know, I wouldn't abandon you like he did. I wouldn't toy with you. You deserve someone better. Like me."

"Oh." My cheeks felt hot. "Um, well, actually, I'm not looking to get into any relationships right now. No offense or anything." I was half-hoping he's take offense and leave.

Marcus smiled eerily and pulled something out of his belt. My blood turned to ice when I realized that it was a knife. I could clearly see another one in his belt, waiting to be used. Marcus grinned inhumanly and flipped his knife in the air. "If you won't dance with me, then I might have to use some incentive."

I instantly flared up. Now, you might think that was stupid of me, but I was not going to let this guy bully me with a knife. Who did he think I was anyway?

I smiled sweetly and motioned for him to come closer. He smiled and approached me, but when he was in close range, I grabbed his belt, pulling it free. I pulled out the knife and pointed it at him. Marcus' surprise didn't last long. Quick as a flash, he whacked the knife out of my hand with such force I gasped. He pointed the knife at my chest. My heart skipped a beat. I figured I was dead meat until something came plowing out of the darkness and into Marcus, knocking him over.

-Travis POV—

The mark of a demigod is ADHD. ADHD can make you do pretty stupid/impulsive things. So, of course, when I saw Marcus Sonlit holding a knife up to Katie, I didn't hesitate to plow into him. As soon as we made contact, Marcus was caught off guard. But I wasn't expecting for him to go slack and then pounce on me. He pinned me to the ground, but I kneed him in the groin. As he doubled over, I pushed myself up with my hands and grabbed the closest weapon- a knife with its blade in the ground. I pulled it out and turned to face Marcus, who was standing up. I was about to come down on him when I heard a soft, tinkling laugh. I turned to find Isabel smiling coldly at us. She pointed her hands at the ground, and small tendrils started creeping out of the ground. Even in the twilight, I could see the thorns on the stems. She was summoning freakin roses! She turned to me, but the stems pointed themselves at Katie. I tried to send her a mental message- RUN!- but she was just staring at me with wide eyes. Isabel clapped her hands. "Bravo, boys, but none of that is necessary. I'll clear up the problem immediately. I will strangle Katie with these thorns if you don't dance with me, Travis." She smiled as if everything was cleared up.

Katie got to her feet. "Wrong, Isabel. You think you're gonna strangle me with stems? Come at me."

Isabel smirked. "It's on, flower girl."

Isabel's stems rose higher and higher. Katie looked around wildly, and then in desperation, picked up a flower that was near the creek. I realized that it was a Stargazer Lily. She turned back to Isabel, and as she did, the flower started glowing. Suddenly, it shot a beam of light at one of Isabel's stems. It crumbled into ashes.

Isabel was shocked, but only for a moment. Then, she laughed. "Nice, try, Katie." Another rose stem grew up in the other's place. "You'll just have to keep zapping all my stems with your little glow lily or whatever."

Katie narrowed her eyes and another burst of light shot from the flower and disintegrated a stem. Isabel grew another one, and waved them in Katie's face. Katie zapped one and dodged the other. Soon, there was a full-fledged flower war going on. I didn't have time to admire the girls' skills, though, because my old buddy Marcus had retrieved his knife, and he didn't look happy that I was wielding his other one. He charged at me, and I barely had time to deflect. He advanced on me and lunged, and our knives met with a scraping of metal on metal. He tried to disengage me, but I caught the feint. We went back and forth until finally, Marcus struck my hand with the flat of his blade, and the knife fell out of my hand and onto the ground. Marcus grinned psychotically, advancing on me. I stepped back, and then had an idea. Hermes was the god of stealing. So….maybe I could steal the knife from him.

I hunched over, pretending to stumble over a rock on the ground. Marcus came forward, and I forced myself to wait. One. Two. Three. When he got close enough, I straightened up and kicked him in the gut and then smacked his hand with my sneaker. The blade fell to the ground and I picked it up. Quicker than lightning, I kicked Marcus' legs out from underneath him and he went down. I jumped forward, and, pressing my knee on his stomach, held the knife to his throat.

Marcus' eyes were wide and full of terror. "You- you- you wouldn't hurt me."

I raised my eyes. "You want to try me?" Of course I would never hurt him, but he didn't need to know that.

Marcus trembled. I pretended to act more confident that I was. "You will stay away from Katie. You will never assault her ever again. You will also stay away from me. You will also never do to any other girl what you just did to Katie."

Marcus nodded. "Y-yes. Of course. I promise." His breath was coming in quick little gasps.

"Swear on the River Styx."

"I swear it! I swear it already!"

I released my knee from Marcus, and he scampered away. I turned towards Katie, panting and triumphant, and realized that there was a problem.

Katie was zapping just fine with her magic flower or whatever. But she didn't see the third stem behind Isabel, holding a huge rock the size of her face.

As if in slow motion, I could see Isabel raising the rock behind her subtly, preparing to throw it at Katie's head.

I screamed, "NO! KATIE!" But I knew it was too late as soon as the words left my mouth. The rock went flying, and I did the only thing I could.

I jumped in front of the flying rock.

Something hit my head, and the world faded to black.

**Yeah! Travis took one for the team! JK. I LOVE Tratie!**

**I just realized that it could also be Kravis. But that sounds horrible! I like the word "Tratie" a lot better, don't you?**

**Questions:**

**1. Who's your favorite character in this so far? (I mean, the ones I made up)**

**2. Have you read the Selection series?**

**3. (for authors only) What fanfic of yours should I read?**

**Thanx! Have a gr8 weekend!**


	10. Tragic Hearts (available on H-TV!)

**Hi everybody! Thanks for being so patient, even when I tortured you with a cliffhanger!**

**So, my goal is to reach 100 reviews, which I've never done before! It probably won't happen, but hey- a girl's got to dream, right? So, can you please please please please review for this chapter and the next one? Thank you!**

**This chapter is kinda random, but I hope you enjoy!**

-Katie POV-

I felt like the world's biggest jerk.

Travis had pretty much sacrificed himself for me when I had been hating on him. Gods, the things I said to him…..I winced just thinking about it.

So, anyway, I was convinced that life was out to get me. First the chores/ grounded at camp-half blood thing. Wow, that was only this week? It seemed ages ago. Then, the whole Andy fiasco. Next, me falling in love with and then getting "dumped" by Travis. Then, realizing that he wasn't playing me, and having him knocked out with a fatal injury to the head.

Now, I was sure he would hate me. Look at the mess I'd gotten him into! Still, I had been so afraid that night with Marcus. If Travis hadn't shown up when he had…I didn't want to think about it.

Travis had been in the infirmary for three days. Three days and 4 hours, to be exact. I had practically been living in the Big House those days, Claire and Hannah bringing me food. I ignored their sympathetic looks. I just concentrated on Travis getting better. Chiron assured me that he would be up and walking soon, but I had my doubts. It would be just my luck for Travis to have some memory problem and forget who I was. Although it wouldn't really matter anyway, since he probably already hated my guts…My life really really stinks.

I actually found it comforting to talk to Allison. She was worried about Travis too; obviously, since she was in his cabin and she was his brother's boyfriend. She was there some of the time with Connor in the infirmary, and Connor looked worse than I had ever seen him look. His blond hair was matted and his eyes seemed cloudy. I guess if I had a sick brother or sister I would look like that, except that I was an only child, so I had no other brothers or sisters.

On the fourth night, I made the mistake of falling asleep in the chair next to Travis's bed.

See, Demeter cabin has a protective spell over it to keep out any interfering demigod dreams. Only a few cabins had that kind of complicated protection, and the Big House was _completely_ unprotected. So, when, out of sheer exhaustion, I fell asleep in there, I had the weirdest dream.

In my dream, I was in a limousine driving down a road that looked suspiciously like something from Beverly Hills. The limousine stopped in front of a massive pink mansion with a gold roof that shone…or was that part my imagination? I got out of the limousine and walked to the door. Even before I raised my hand to knock, the door swung open and standing before me was the most beautiful woman in the world.

Her features kept shifting to become more and more beautiful. She was wearing a light pink toga, which would have looked completely random on most people, but looked stunning on this lady. She had a gold serpentine necklace that had the letter Alpha on it. She smiled dazzlingly at me, and I immediately knew who it was.

"Would you like to come in for some cookies and lemonade?" the goddess Aphrodite invited me.

I nodded, still too surprised to speak. Aphrodite ushered me into her mansion - if you could even call it that. I looked more like a cross between a glass palace and a Greek temple. Aphrodite swept over to a small table nearby and made two glasses of lemonade appear. "We have SO much to discuss. Honestly, I've just been DYING to meet you, sweetheart! Please, have a seat."

I sat, a little numbly. "Why- why am I here?"

Aphrodite gave me another dazzling smile. "Why, I thought the answer to that would be obvious. Come now! Your story, your story! I always love to hear a good love story!"

"What love?" I asked, taking a sip of the really, really good lemonade. "There's nothing to tell!"

Aphrodite raised a perfect eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Aphrodite came to sit next to me. "I want you to tell me everything. Every little detail from the very start."

So, I told her. I told her about the punishment, and how I was grounded at Camp Half-Blood with Travis Stoll and how we became friends and then how I started liking him after we watched that movie in the forest, then about Isabel, and about the dance, and then Marcus and his knives and how Travis saved me and then jumped in front of that rock that Isabel threw. I didn't leave out a single detail. In a way, it felt good to get it all out. Towards the middle of the story, I started to realize how unreal this was, confiding in the goddess of love about my issues, but I figured- what the heck? When you're a demigod, your life isn't exactly normal. You get used to it, eventually.

I finally ended with Travis in the infirmary and me a nervous wreck.

Aphrodite sighed again and pulled out a lace handkerchief, dabbing at her blue eyes. "Oh, how sweet. How perfect. I love it! It's like that lovely opera- what was it called? Oh yes, Carmen!"

"Carmen's a tragedy," I reminded her, "and the girl leaves the guy for another guy."

Aphrodite waved her hand in a vague motion. "Oh, you get the point! I mean that it's so sweet that you just now realize that he's your true love while he's on the verge of death!"

"What? I never said anything about true love. This isn't Beauty and the Beast. And-whoa- what was that about the verge of _death_?"

"So sweet, so sincere!" Aphrodite prattled on as if she had never heard my outburst. "Of course, romance isn't as it was back in the day, but you young people do have the best tragic love stories! I remember Leiana and Bob, oh they were adorable, it was a shame that Bob got gobbled by a Fury, see then Leiana went a bit crazy in the head if you know what I mean, and then there was Silena and Charles, oh, one of my favorites! A minor detail that Charles died because Silena was the traitor, very minor, and then oh my, how about-"

I cleared my throat. Aphrodite blinked. "Oh, where were we dear? I'm so very sorry. I get on my love rants and…..well, the point is that you have one of the best stories I have ever heard! So, as a reward for telling me it and possibly letting me broadcast it live to Olympus on my new Hephaestus-TV show _Tragic Hearts_—"

"Wait- WHAT?!"

"-I will give you a gift." Aphrodite waved her hand and a gold necklace appeared in my lap. It had a faint glow, and it had a pendant of a heart on it. The words 'I'm a _Tragic Hearts_ star!" were etched into the side. I held it up, and Aphrodite beamed. "This necklace has the blessing of Aphrodite on it—the blessing of me! Whenever you put it on, the blessing of me will be with you, and you will be instantly beautiful! But don't wear it too much, or the magic will wear out. Oh, and just a heads up. After your debut on _Tragic Hearts_ that I may or may not be filming at this very minute, we will be watching your progress. Oh, look!" Aphrodite pulled out her cell phone and checked her texts. "Demeter and Hermes, obviously, think it's going to end happily, with Travis waking up. Well, they are your parents, after all. Dionysus thinks that you are both going to die- no surprise there. Apollo and Hera, think that Travis will die, but you will live. Zeus and Artemis think that Travis will wake up and find that he hates you. And Poseidon, Ares, Hades, Persephone, Hephaestus, and Hestia think that it will turn out happy."

"Wait," I asked, "Ares wants it to turn out happy? And Hades?"

Aphrodite raised a finger to her lips conspiratorially. "Oh, of course! Every Olympian wants a happy ending! Underneath all their armor and talk, they are just big sweethearts!"

I highly doubted that, but I decided to get back on topic. "So- will Travis wake up and still hate me?"

Aphrodite shrugged, sending her perfect hair cascading down her shoulders. "Oh, honey, if only I could tell you that everything would be all right! Alas, even us Olympians do not know the fate of your Travis. On the bright side, you have that necklace! Now, it's probably time for you to return to Camp. Your friends are looking for you!"

I stood, and Aphrodite blew me a kiss. "We'll be watching you! And remember, use the necklace!"

Aphrodite's mansion started to fade away into mist, and all I could see was Aphrodite's smiling face and the brightness of her phone as more Gods and Goddesses put in how they thought my love life would turn out. Creepy.

My eyes flew open and I sat straight up. There was a sliver of early morning light coming from the windows. The first campers were just coming outside. At first I thought that I had just had some kind of wild dream, but then I looked down, and I was clutching the necklace in my hand. So, that was all real.

I tentatively raised the necklace over my head and let it settle over my shoulders. Immediately, I could feel my skin turning warmer, my hair undoing itself from its messy braid and resting on my shoulders, shiny and perfect, the dirt coming out from my now perfectly manicured fingers. I looked in a mirror and was to stunned to gasp; my face had make-up on it. They were just small, subtle touches around my eyes and cheeks and moth, bringing out my green eyes and making my cheeks rosy, but it made a huge difference. I looked….better. Well, duh, but I didn't know how else to put it.

Suddenly, the door flew open and in came Allison and Connor. "Katie!" Allison cried. "Did you spend all night here?"

I smiled. "Accidentally."

Allison nodded. "You look really good! Where'd you get all that make-up?"

I sighed. "Long story. I'll tell you about it later, it was really weird—"

Allison, Connor and I gasped all at the exact same time.

Travis was stirring.

**MAJOR CLIFFIE! Will Travis hate her, or will he still love her?**

**What do you guess?**

**Anyway...REVIEW!PLEASE! Every review makes me a little happier! :) Thanks!**

**~iheartamianplusnatan (cuz who doesn't?)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey Guys. I"M BACK! Sorry I wasn't able to update earlier, but I've had dress rehearsals for the play, and then recitals! YAAAAYYY! I would tell you guys to see it... Anyway, I worked on the perfect ending for my Tratie for a looong time. How should I perfectly end it? This is as close to perfect as I could get. I'm sorry if it's not that great.**

**IT'S MY LAST CHAPTER! I'm really sad, guys. I love writing this story more than any other story I've ever done, ever. EVER! I really hope I can get to 100 reviews. Please help me! Thanks!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own PJO! :-( *sad face***

Travis POV

When I opened my eyes, I saw three faces looking down at me. One was my brother, Connor. He looked terrible, his hair all matted and his eyes bloodshot. He was smiling with relief, though. The next person was Allison, with her arm around Connor's waist, her pale face smiling. She was holding hands with another girl.

Katie.

Was it my imagination, or did she look really, really, good? She, however, was not smiling, but looking at my face intently, as if searching for an answer. I gave a weak, "Hi." And Allison and Connor exploded with cheering. Katie smiled weakly, but she still looked confused.

As soon as my brother and his girlfriend calmed down, they started throwing questions at me. Did I need any nectar? Any ambrosia? Another pillow? Was I comfortable? Did I feel faint?

Connor brought me a huge mug of nectar, and I drank it down quickly. It tasted like a blueberry smoothie. I felt the energy returning to my veins. I glanced at Katie thorough the corner of my eye. Was she still mad at me?

"Yeah," Allison was saying, "Katie was the best! She was in here, like, all the time!"

Katie looked at the floor blushing. Katie…..helped me? So she might not still hate me?

I gave Allison a meaningful look. I glanced at Katie, and then back at her. Then, I did it again. Finally, she got the message.

"Oh!" She grabbed Connor arm and started pulling him towards the door. "Connor, I think your brother needs some time to relax. He just woke up."

Hey, yo, wait!" Connor struggled as he was herded out the door. "He's my BROTHER!"

Allison rolled her eyes. "And I'm sure you'll have lots of time to catch up and plan future pranks, but right now, we are leaving."

After Allison and Connor left, there was an awkward silence. The air was charged with tension. Katie was inspecting her hands.

Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore. "Look, about the dance, I—"

"I was a jerk." Katie looked up at me. "I said some horrible things to you, and I'm just really sorry."

I shrugged. "It's OK. You didn't know. If I were in your position, I might've done the same thing."

Katie looked at me, almost hopefully. "So…..you don't hate me?"

I almost laughed. "What? Why would I hate you? After you helped me get better?"

Katie smiled the teeniest bit and said, "I was sure you would hate me, after everything."

"And I thought you might still hate me."

"Yes, Stoll. I will hate you forever."

"WHAT?! But I thought you just said-"

"Travis! You practically saved my life! Why on Earth would I hate you?"

"So….you _don't_ hate me?"

Katie face palmed. "Oh my gods, Travis." I was relieved to see that she was smiling. "Can you walk?"

I sat up, and immediately, my vision blurred. After a second, though, my sight returned to normal, and I nodded. "Probably."

Katie raised her eyes. "Probably? Probably as in there might be a risk of you falling on your head and going into another coma-like thing?"

"Probably."

"Good enough for me." Katie stood, and after a second, I stood, too. We walked to the porch of the big house and sat on the edge of the wood. Camp Half-Blood was just waking up. Campers were making their way to the dining Pavilion, which was now disco ball and streamer- free. A group of younger campers glanced at us curiously, but we ignored them.

I turned to Katie. "Oh, yeah, what happened to Isabel?"

Katie shrugged. "No clue. I guess she ran off as soon as she hit you with the stupid rock."

I touched my bandaged head gingerly. "Yeah, she left a pretty big bump."

We sat in silence for a little while. Finally, I asked the question I had been dying to ask. "So….you, like, sat with me the whole time I was in the infirmary?"

Katie punched me lightly on the shoulder. "Don't be stupid, Stoll. Of course! I owed you!"

My shoulders slumped. "Oh. Because you owed me. Of course."

Katie turned to face me. "C'mon. It would be no fun if you were dead!"

"Yeah. I guess you would stay out of trouble with me out of the way."

"No, the punishment wasn't all that bad. I mean, who would watch Tangled with me in the woods after campfire? Who would save me from knife-happy creepers? Seriously, Stoll."

I shrugged. "Definitely a shame. Who couldn't live without Travis Stoll, the Perfection of awesomeness?"

"Lie cough."

"Hey!"

Katie's eyes sparkled. "You know I'm joking, Travis."

"So, anyway, back to the other thing. Why did you actually care enough to help me get better?"

Katie looked down at her hands. "It's complicated. Mostly because I realized that you weren't, you know, messing with me and you actually were, you know….."

"Going to ask you to the dance?"

"Yeah." Katie's face turned slightly pink, and my face felt hot, too. "And I never got to go to the dance with you," I commented ruefully.

"Don't be stupid Stoll. I'm sure they'll have lots more dances that you can ask me to."

My face must've gotten even redder, because Katie laughed. "I—i—ummmm…" I stammered.

Katie reached out her hands and cupped my face. "You're not getting away from me THAT easily, Travis Stoll. Don't you even think about it."

She leaned forward and kissed me.

My brain went numb. I just couldn't process what was happening. After a few seconds, though, I leaned in. Katie's hair smelled like cinnamon today. There was a slight breeze. Her lips felt really really soft. In short, it was perfect.

It must've looked strange to the other campers, Katie Gardiner and Travis Stoll sitting on the front porch of the Big House kissing. But I didn't really care. It was summer. Katie didn't hate me. Everything was perfect.

...0.0.0.

That day was one of the best days of my life.

I went back to my cabin, and Allison shot me a _what happened?_ Look. I just smiled back, and she clapped her hands and started talking excitedly to Abby and Marianna.

It seemed like by the end of the day, everyone knew that I was dating Katie. Seriously. That's how fast news travels at Camp Half-Blood. Connor teased me about it until I told him that I would push him off the Lava Rock climbing wall. At Campfire, I made a beeline towards Katie and Allison, who were now chatting like old buddies. Connor came with me, and we all sang cheesy campfire songs like The Minotaur Song and This is the Yarn that Never Ends (based on the 3 Fates and their ball of yarn).

Katie grabbed my hand and pointed across the campfire. "Travis, look!" Just visible behind the flames were the silhouettes of Isabel and Marcus, holding hands. Well, it looked like we weren't the only ones who'd had a crazy day.

I turned to Katie. "Oh, hey, before I forget, we're doing a raid on the Aphrodite Cabin in two days. Wanna come?"

"What kind of a date is that? That's even worse than watching a Disney movie in the forest at night!"

"So….that's a yes?"

"Well, duh Stoll!"

...0.0.0.

It was just a regular day at Camp Half-Blood.

The Apollo cabin was dong a sing-off against some of the nymphs, and a couple of interested Aphrodite girls had come out to watch. I guess there are some girls who find singers attractive, and then SOME who prefer Band Geeks. (hahaha, inside joke) The Demeter Cabin was walking around in the strawberry fields, making the green leaves colors' sharper. The Hephaestus cabin was cracking their knuckles, getting ready for an intense game of tetherball. So, yeah, just a normal day.

And what was the Hermes Cabin doing, you might ask?

Well, that's a very good question.

"Abby, Mari, GO!" hissed Conner from behind the trees. The two girls ran out from the cover and into the Aphrodite Cabin. A few moments later, the whole cabin, including the boys, came stampeding out in a fashionable gaggle of screaming campers. This wasn't abnormal behavior for the Aphrodites, so everyone just turned away, Lucky for us, or they would've seen the campers all rushing past Pelus, the dragon guarding the Golden Fleece on Thalia's tree, heading for the beach. _Good. Very good._ The Hermes Plan was in action.

I just hoped out new out-of-cabin helper would be able to keep up.

"Hey." Katie appeared next to me, blowing a strand of reddish-brown hair out of her face. "What did Abby and Mari tell the Aphro's?"

I shrugged. "I think that Josh Hutcherson was giving out free signed photographs at the beach in one hour and they better get in line fast."

"Wow, that's pretty good. Who came up with it?"

"Probably Abby."

Connor came over to us with Allison right next to him. "Hey, guys, we're ready to go."

I turned to our cabin. "OK guys, here's the plan. We crawl into the Aphrodite cabin and take everything. Their make-up, posters, etc. Bring the booty back to Zeus' Fist, where we will hide it. Alright—BREAK!"

We all ran for the windows. We grabbed things everywhere—hairbrushes, jewelry, boxes, perfume, and passed it on to the people waiting outside who would then go bury it in the dirt holes in the forest.

We got the last of the prized possessions and then we herded everyone out the windows. It was just down to Me, Connor, Katie, and Allison when the door exploded. All the Aphrodite campers flooded into their cabin, and then started screaming when they realized that we had stripped it. Some started wailing. Others started pulling out their hair. But the majority turned towards us with less-than-happy-faces.

Oops.

**So, did you like it? I really hope you did, and I really hope this was a good ending and that you screamed like a fangirl/fanguy. Did you?**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review! Thanks so much for all the reviews I've already received, and I REALLY SUPER DUPER hope that I can get to 100 reviews. Thanks guys!**

**Oh, and since this was my first PJO, i'm going to do this series story with my BFFs called "Godlings". It was AmianNatan4ever's idea, and basically there are these regular peeps who get brought to Camp Half-Blood and are all like "I'm a demigod!" but they're actually not; they're Godlings. OK, so i'm really bad at summaries, and I probably just made you not want to read this story, right? But, please, just give it a chance. thanks!**

**And for everyone who reviewed my stories- I LOVE YOU ALL! FREE COOKIES! (::) (::) (::) **


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